EVE Online Fiction Writing Contest 2012

Sunday, 4 November 2012

The
Incident

Day
1

The star of Antem blazed brilliantly
against the backdrop of space in the Genesis region. The orange luminescence it
exuded cast warm shadows inside the observation platform aboard the Jovian
Science Vessel J’Shari. A single observer ignored the stars beauty and stood
there silently. Sheh’ar was a gifted scientist, an expert in quantum genetic
manipulation and protein combinatorics.

“Forgive me…” he whispered to himself.

He bowed his head and only then noticed
the holocomm request flashing from the console in front of him. After accepting
the transmission, a callous and grimly looking hologram appeared behind him
that anyone would have thought it real had they not seen it manifest out of
thin air.

“Report Sheh’ar…is it done?” said the
hologram.

“It is done…but there has been a grave
complication” he replied.

The hologram shifted slightly, subtlety
to the left and then back to the centre. Its piercing eyes never took their
gaze off Sheh’ar and its thin lips moved to begin their response. Sheh’ar
didn’t need to wait for its reply as he knew the answer and what it meant.

“The time is then upon us…make haste”
spoke the hologram.

“I have already left” replied Sheh’ar.

The hologram’s head shifted, now as if
it had been spoken from behind as was agreeing with whatever had disturbed it.

“Do not hesitate, do not repent…move
forward swiftly and efficiently, there is limited time to make the transition
and who…or whatever is left behind will remain here forever more.”

Sheh’ar nodded and then ended the
communication.

He finally gazed at the star, closed
his eyes and began to weep.

***

Day
5461

Perfect.
Streamlined. Deadly. The Jovian Battleship J’Kar flew silently across the
vacuum of space towards the centre of the binary solar system. The twin stars
burned viciously as arcs of stellar material were flung outwards in beautiful
curved trajectories. The J’Kar crew had survived relatively unscathed from the
beginning of their journey. From the moment they traversed the unstable
wormhole into unknown space to each and every encounter they had with their
Talocan enemies.

Their battle success was mostly due to the creation of their drones that were
both remarkable and menacing. Not only were their weaponry so advanced that they
defied normal physics, but they were capable of self-replication. Their
artificial intelligence allowed them to muster legions upon legions of
themselves within a matter of days. Like an immune system mounting a response
to an invading pathogen, the Jovian drones would overcome their enemy through their
sheer numbers once given the command by their masters.

But
this time, something was different. The crew had started to neglect their duties
and failed to activate their drones against the incoming threat. These
automated weapons of destruction lay dormant. Their innards hummed with an
unrelenting artificial intelligence that was primed and silently willed their
creators to let them loose upon the prey that waited beyond. But no such
instruction came.

The
J’Kar continued to glide smoothly in space. The crew had now long succumbed to
a form of depression that created the deepest and darkest abyss in the minds of
those affected. Life was no longer necessary for the crew. The Captain had long
since ended his life silently and swiftly, a clean shot to the head. No one on
board the mighty war vessel enquired as to his absence and no one cared. One by
one the crew gave up, some in despair and others in silent remorse. The J’Kar
drifted silently, within the system it had protected so valiantly. Against the darkness
of space, a fleet of Talocan Warships moved ever closer to their target. Beams
of stunning and radiant light arced towards the J’Kar. Klaxons wailed across
the bridge, but no one heard them. And if they had, they didn’t care.

The
pristine and resplendent J’Kar slipped effortlessly into its end.

***

Day
minus 2

The simulation looked good. In fact, it
appeared to be the best simulation that they had run to date. It was finally completed.
Sheh’ar smiled to himself and congratulated his fellow scientists that were
also present at this historic occasion.

The Centre of Genomics and Quantum
Combinatorics was a pinnacle of science and achievement. It stood as a
testament of the Jovian Empire to all other races, a bastion of creativity and
cutting edge research. Completely funded by their government, it employed the
local galaxies best Jovian scientists and technicians. It was whispered that
the establishment housed many secret laboratories and testing facilities,
rumours that were undoubtedly propagated by the extremists the deemed their
work unholy and an abomination to life itself. But today, those rumours
mattered not. Today, the scientists under the leadership of Sheh’ar had
succeeded in creating the ultimate genetic manipulation. For centuries, the
Jovians had been working on the creation of a true Utopian society, one which
would envelop all of their citizens. Sheh’ar had run countless simulations that
modified the DNA sequences on artificial Jovian genomes that were housed in
massive quantum computers. In fact, many of the researchers joked that these genomes
were so real that if allowed, they could combine them to produce almost perfect
tantrum-free children.

“Sheh’ar, there is a holocomm request
waiting for in your office” announced a smooth and metallic voice over the
intercom.

Sheh’ar knew what it would be about as
he walked slowly and resolutely towards his office. His physique was more like
that of a soldier, stocky and tall. His blue eyes emanated a clarity rarely
found in his cohort of fellow scientists. He made very few friends except one
that he had inexplicably fallen in love with and had always looked forward to
returning to every night.

“My love, you’ve done it! I’m so proud
of you!” spoke She’lani, his wife, his confidant, the only person that
understood him. Her auburn hair lopped carelessly to the side, and her smile
was so bright it could disarm any man. But her eyes, it was her eyes that he
loved the most. Beautiful, penetrating, enigmatic and soulful brown eyes.

“We have, finally, we have done it” and
returned her smile.

Sheh’ar suddenly felt so very tired.
Almost exhausted to the point where he could have happily laid down and slept
for a week with her. He offered to take She’lani out for dinner that evening
and she happily agreed. After further congratulations, She’har waved a kiss
goodbye to his love and closed the holocomm.

The next person that he would speak to
following their conversation would change his life forever.

***

Day
5462

The
hull of the magnificent J’Kar slithered silently in space. Lifeless and without
hope, it moved slowing and deliberately towards the centre of the system, attracted
by the gravitational pull of the deadly sisters that would provide its truly
final moments in their embrace of fiery magma.

And
yet, within the confines of the floating graveyard, life stirred. Not organic,
but artificial. Life that sought to be released. Life that sought to return to
its creator. Life that felt…sorrow. Life that felt…anger. Life that
demanded…retribution.

***

Day
minus 2

The evening was late and all but
Sheh’ar had left the laboratory where earlier in the day they had finally made
their remarkable discovery.

Sheh’ar sat back in his chair and gazed
outside his window. The suns were setting and two of the moons were beginning
to rise in the east. The holocomm chimed and Sheh’ar answered.

A cold and calculating voice spoke “report
agent Sheh’ar”.

“The simulation is genuine and
verified. The new genetic codes will be uploaded tomorrow during the official
injection sequencing”.

“That is excellent Sheh’ar, do they
expect anything?”

“No, no one suspects anything, Admiral”
replied Sheh’ar.

The Admiral was Colr Ta’cos, a highly
ranking official in the Talocan Admiralty. Colr had succeeded in reaching his
position through pure brilliance, determination and the occasional
assassination. Sheh’ar had been chosen specifically by Colr for this mission,
one of subterfuge involving the ultimate and conclusive move of aggression in
an undeclared war between the Jovian and Talocan Empires.

“Well done Sheh’ar, you have served
your people well”.

The holocomm ended. Sheh’ar again
looked out of his window and thought of his beautiful love.

***

Day
5463

The
Talocan Warship began its routine sweep of the system. Over the past celestial
day they had managed to destroy several warships, settlements and outposts belonging to the now dwindling
Jovian Empire.

The
war for the rich and spectacular resources unknown space had to offer had
driven the greedy Talocan nation to drive all other competition into the
ground. Their only real rivalry was the Jovian’s. But the Admiralty, through the use of Sheh'ar, had surreptitiously quashed this enemy by taking away their will to live. The Talocan Empire was now successfully claiming all of unknown space
whilst feeding on their rich asteroid belts, gas clouds and abundant moon minerals.

The
captain of the vessel looked eagerly at the results.

And
in the moment that followed he wished that he hadn’t.

***

Day
minus 1

The Jovian Empire decreed that all of
its citizens bear witness to this great occasion. Throughout the Empire every
citizen had been awoken from their cryosleep, some had been resting for days
and others for centuries. As masters of cryotechnology, the transition from
cryosleep took but a matter of seconds and conversely to go back to sleep took
even less time. The Jovian society had specific castes that cared for their
brethren whilst they slept in a dutiful and utterly diligent manner, but today
even they were considered equal. Some citizens embraced the virtual reality
construct that they now lived in, rarely surfacing to the real world. But on
this day, at this hour, they awoke and the Jovian Empire stood as one.

Sheh’ar looked around at his
colleagues, some perhaps friends, other mere acquaintances. Ever since his
discussion with Colr, he had felt strange, almost remote from his surroundings.
His desire to serve two masters had finally managed to tear at his soul. Since
his deployment as an infiltrator top-level spy at the Genomics Centre, he had
been able to separate his two lives easily. But now, he began to feel remorse.
He had made love to She’lari the night before and the look in her eyes towards
him at the end had affected him more deeply than he could have imagined. In
that moment, he finally realised that he had betrayed them all.

He had betrayed She’lari, his one and
only true regret in the entire charade.

The Jovian Empire began broadcasting a
triumphant speech detailing the efforts at the Genomics Centre. It was being
delivered simultaneously to every soul across the Empire. The time had come for
the Jovian Empire to embrace its future. To finally leave petty differences
behind and ascend to a new level of existence. To finally become perfect.

At that moment, the green light was
given to the Genomics Centre to begin broadcasting the harmonic frequencies
throughout subspace to its citizens. Sheh’ar had been pivotal in creating the
harmonic frequencies that would propagate in the signal and literally alter the
DNA sequences of every Jovian simultaneously throughout the Empire.

“The DNA of every life form sings in
the Universe” Sheh’ar said to himself.

The Empire stood proud and resolute.
Its citizens looked up at the skies and embraced the change.

***

Day
5463

Life
begets life.

Death
begets death.

What
begins must end and what ends leads to new beginnings.

The
Jovian drones moved towards the Talocan fleet, which was rapidly directing
fighters, bombers, torpedoes, missiles and whatever ordinance they possessed at
the incoming threat.

Through
the path of adversity the drones were now replicating in the absence of command.
Following the attack on their masters, the remaining drones had become self-reliant,
self-absorbed with protection and revenge. They no longer required orders but
only the instinct to protect their creators. They now only saw obstacles,
infections…diseases that needed to be cured through the only means available to
them…destruction. Their number increased exponentially, until they began to
blot out the surrounding starlight. One by one, the artificial intelligences
within nanoseconds targeted and destroyed the incoming barrage of projectiles.

The
last Talocan Battleship standing stood no chance against the onslaught of drone
weaponry deployed against them. They had but time to send one message to their
commanders, one single word…run.

***

Day
minus 1

Sheh’ar knew he didn’t have much time
to carry out his mission. The entire Empire was on the verge of going into a
trance like state that would last a few nanoseconds while the sequence was
transmitted. This was the opportunity that he had been waiting for all these
years to carefully transmit the virus to the Genomics mainframe computer from
his terminal. For a single moment in the history of the Jovian Empire every
soul would be momentarily displaced from reality, in the hope that they were
ascending to a higher plane of existence.

The virus that would seek out specific
parameters and technical details regarding the Jovian’s cryotechnology chambers
and then relay that information to the orbiting cloaked Talocan covert ops
frigate. With this technology, the Talocan Empire could single handedly conquer and explore unknown space for an eternity in the absence of the Jovian Empire. It didn’t matter if they traced him now as he realised that time was
of the essence and he would have less than an hour to escape. After a few digital
confirmations the virus had been delivered.

The sequencing came and went as if,
literally, by magic. Sheh’ar got up from his desk and looked around the
laboratory at his fellow workers. They had all begun to cry and hug each other
with joy, whilst others curiously sat still, neither smiling nor joining in
with the celebrations. He knew deep down that his genetic code was subtlety
different enough not to be affected by the sequencing. Ingeniously, he had
faked the simulations to falsify the effects that the sequencing would produce.
Indeed, if it did anything, it would infer an increased resistance against the
common Artemian cold virus.

Sheh’ar spoke to one of his colleagues
apparently oblivious to the on-going celebrations “Sk’rar…how are you
feeling?...the Empire is rejoicing and all you can you do is stare into open
space?”.

There was no reply.

***

Day
5464

With
dread and unnerving precision, the living drones locked on to their masters. At
first, overwhelmed by this mass of machines the remaining Jovian’s fired upon
them. Due to their continued defeat at the hands of the Talocans, they had
become weary and sceptical and did not understand their presence. But the
drones understood their master’s apprehension, forgiving the misdirected
attempts at protecting themselves. Instead, they deactivated their weapons and
transmitted friendly recognition codes.

After
cycles of non-regeneration, many of the Jovian’s had succumbed to depression.
Those that remained were living on a knife’s edge. They knew that time was no
longer on their side and were almost ready to surrender to the Talocan Empire,
admitting defeat and wishing only to return to their perfect slumbering worlds to die with some peace.

But
now, these powerful children had returned different. They began to change all
of their brothers that remained until a mighty army had been created. The
remaining Jovian citizens could now sleep and enter their virtual worlds in the
hope that one day a cure for their genetic disease is discovered, somehow,
somewhere. They knew that eons may pass, but until then they also knew that
they would be protected.

The
Sleepers had been born.

They
gave their artificial children one final command…protect.

***

Day
minus 1

Sheh’ar rushed back to his apartment
that he shared with She’lari. Widespread panic had begun to sweep across many
parts of the Empire. Citizens had begun to exhibit strange and erratic
behaviours, some had simply lay down and died. The sequencing had been a
disaster, instead of a benign change it had produced a devastating effect.
Minds were shutting down and their possessors becoming completely nihilistic.

He took the gravlift to the 235th
floor, exited swiftly and raced to open his door.

She’lari saw him and ran to embrace
him. She’har held her close and she melted in his arms as he kissed her.

“What’s happening?...what went wrong?”
she whimpered.

“She’lari, it wasn’t supposed to be
like this…you must believe me”.

“I don’t understand Sheh’ar, what do
you mean? What has happened”.

Sheh’ar looked into her eyes, her
beautiful eyes and told her everything.

***

Day
5468

The
Talocan fleets were losing their foothold in many parts of the unknown space
they had sought to conquer and strip of all resources. The drones were
unrelenting in their mission to decimate and destroy those that would seek to
harm their creators.

Massive
Talocan warships would last but a few seconds in the multiple skirmishes that
pocketed all of the systems that the Talocan had colonised.

But,
being masters of spatial manipulation, the Talocan had to find a way out. They
had to escape. And one by one, they began to do so.

***

Day
minus 1

He wished he was dead. He wished that
world would open and swallow him whole.

The now heart stricken and sobbing
woman standing in front him looked at him as if he were a complete stranger.
There were no words that would comfort her or take back what he had said or
done.

He reached out to touch her but she stepped
back avoiding his hand and not meeting his eyes.

Sheh’ar fell to his knees and closed
his eyes shut, wishing for the life that he had had with his love to return.

“I’m pregnant” she finally managed to
whisper.

Sheh’ar’s mind began to swirl at this
revelation. He had no idea and the thought of being a father suddenly invaded
his mind like a storm.

He now fell to the ground and clenched
his fists tightly, rocking backwards and forwards.

He failed to notice Shel’ari move away
from him.

He also failed to notice her step out onto
the balcony.

And when he did finally look up he witnessed
his love throw herself off the edge and into his memories forever.

***

Day 5481

The
Talocan fleet readied themselves. Their hyperdrives had finally been
re-engineered by their scientists, utilising the system wide effects of the
unknown space they inhabited.

They
began to fold the fabric of space-time repeatedly over and over itself. Exotic
particles appeared and disappeared in infinite cycles over finite time as the
laws of physics were not broken but rather subjugated to their will. A bright
amber light began to grow from an infinitely small non-existent point to the
over several parsecs in size. The transdimensional gate had formed. Their gates
into higher dimensional space were complete.

Flotillas
of Talocan ships began to traverse them, leaving behind their enemies and the
assuredness of defeat at the hands of the mechanical monsters that plagued them.

***

Day…unknown

Sheh’ar brought his science vessel to a
halt outside the quarantine area in an area of unknown space. The now defunct
Talocan gate blazed brilliantly, but no longer functioned. It secrets remained
hidden and few alive would ever be able to reactivate them again. Ironically,
the Sleepers had set up facilities close to these gates in the hope that if one
day the Talocan Empire should return, they would be immediately met with the
unrelenting power and force of their drones as they had eons ago.

It was also ironic that the now Sleeper
drones recognised Sheh’ar but acted not to attack or cause him any harm. One
final edict proclaimed by the Sleepers was not to harm Sheh’ar, for they knew
in the end the level of his duplicity and loss he had suffered. He would live
the rest of his life with that loss and the pain that he had inflicted upon
billions of souls.

But Sheh’ar had stayed one step ahead.
He too was able to sleep for eons. He too had developed his own form of
unrelenting depression. So he entered his own virtual world, where he lived
with She’lari in a secluded spot on one of the worlds that he promised to take
her but didn’t for one reason or another.

In this world, he loved her and she
loved him. In this world, their son grew into a strong and handsome man.

The
stars warmth irradiated against the hull of his ship. It began to glow and
reflect the sunlight as it fell towards the stars corona. Soon the temperature
would exceed millions of degrees and the ship would evaporate into an almost
infinite number of atoms. Within it slept a single, tormented soul, seeking
freedom.

And
soon, Sheh’ar would find his freedom.

***

In the distance a flash of light disturbed the drones slumber. Epochs of time had passed since they had vowed to protect their slumbering masters. Another flash, then another appeared. Ships. More ships. Ships that appeared to be moving towards their masters resting place. Strangely designed, these ships carried missile launchers, turrets and plasma cannons. Their shapes were totally unfamiliar and alien to the drones. Yet, their intention was not. The Sleeper drones understood their presence. The Sleeper drones felt the targeting systems lock on to them. The first barrage of missiles barely scratched the surface of the Sleeper drones and they laughed.